CASEAPPLICATION 183
Packaging Providesprotection,containment,communication,andutilityfortheproduct.
Productlifecycle Aproductplanningtoolthatparallelsthestagesofthehumanlifecycle.
Brand IdentifiesthCproductanddi stinguishesit fromcompetitors.
Position Astrategicmanagementdecisionthatdetermines theplacea productshouldoccupyina
givenmarket.
Discuss ionQuestions
1.Whatoverridingobjectives shouldbekeptinmindwhendesigninga productstrategy?
- Howdothestrategiesofmarket extensionandmarketsegmentationdiffer?
3.Identifythestepsa productmanagershouldtakeindecidinghowtopositiona product.
4.Inwhatl<..indofmarketsituationwilla strategyofproductdifferentiationbemosteffective?
5.Whatarethefourproductmixstrategiesdi sc ussedinthechapter? Namethreereasonswhya
companymightdecidetoalteritsproductmix.
6.Whatfactorswouldimpacta marketingmanager'sdecisiontoengageina temporaryorperma-
nentpricechangefora matureproduct?
7.Howwouldyoudefinetheterm"product"? Differentiatebetweenthepointsofviewoftheman-
ufacturerandthecustomer.
8.Distinguishbetweenconveniencegoods, s hoppinggoods.andspecialtygoods.Canyouthinkof
examplesthatbelongineachcategory,otherthanthosediscussedinthechapter?
9.Compareandcontrasttheconsumer'sviewandthefirm's viewofa newproduct.
10.Describethestepsinthenewproductdevelopmentprocess.Areallthesestepsnecess ary?
Project
Identifya productthatyoufeelisinthematurityordeclinestage.Determinethecharacteristicsof
thisproductinlightofthediscussionthroughoutthischapter.Writea3-5pageanalysis.
CASEAPPLICATION
HERSHEYCHOCOLATEMILK
HersheyFoods Corp.ismakinganunusualmoveinusing nationalTVadvertisingforitschocolate
milk,a productthathistoricallyhasn'treceivedmuchadsupport.ThenationalTVcommercial,which
first airedinJune1983,wasshotin 12 weeksinLondonbyClearwaterProductions.DoyleDane
Bernbach inNewYorkdevelupedthecommercial,whichhasbeenshownnationallyona children's
networkandintheearlyfringetimeperiod.
"Thecommercial's creative,it'saggressive.~tbreaksonecardinalrulebynotmentioningthis
newproductuntil75%intothecommercial.Butthecommercialworks.Wethinkitsunique,"says
BobJeffery,DuBVPaccountsupervisor.HeadmitsthattheHersheypackagingalsohashadanirr:por-
tantconsumerimpact."Thecartonpracticallyscreamschocolaie."
